UKI EDO: EDO LANGUAGE LUNAR MONTHS By Chief (Prof.) Alex G. Igbineweka The Guosa Language Evolutionist and Inventor A Nigerian and ECOWAS Common Indigenous Future Lingua Franca for Unity, Identity, Political Stability, Tourism, Arts, Culture and Science Teliwaya: (510) 225-9172 Ext. 1-4
EDO PEOPLE'S MONTHLY EVENTS
Ùkí-agùẹ January Self, family and community purification
Ùkí -'fíe February Bush clearing (for farming purposes)
Ùkí -egbó March Tree felling
Ùkí-ekhúen April Preparing the land for planting of crops
Ùkí-egúa May Yam planting season
Ùkí-kpèsì June Yam-sticking (staking or sticking)
Ùkí-vìemà July Vine tending of the yams
Ùkí-òhíe August Rain recession (August break)
Ùkí-èhó* September New yam gifts (new yams celebration)
Ùkí-emórhò October Yam harvest season
Ùkí-aká November Yams storing in the barns (food for rainy days)
Ùk'-Ìgùe December Igue Festival, thanksgiving etc.
It should be noted that most of the traditional Edo lunar months centered around agriculture and farming events, the main source of livelihood of the Great Benin Kingdom, now Edo State of Nigeria. The Edo people have so many other socio-economic trading specialties such as rubber plantation and rubber-tapping, hunting the wild life for diet proteins, palm-oil production, traditional mud and thatch house building industries, traditional textile industries "Ùkpón-orú", "Ìgbégbé", "Ísónyén" etc. Why the people decided to name their lunar months around yam produce is a subject that we would like us to discuss fully
Also, the Edo people of Nigeria started the "Thanksgiving" annual celebrations long before the Europeans and the United States of America ever dreamed of such programs. But like every other things - Africans don't take their skills and talents seriously for indigenous development. They are the only people who buried their ingenuities beneath the dusts.
Please be aware too, that there are differences between "Ùkí-èhó ", "èhó" and "Èhòr" as follows:
1. Ùkí-èhó:... meaning the month of September, the month of new yams celebration 2. èhó: ..........meaning "ear" 3. Èhòr:.........The name of a major town in Uhunmwonde Local Government Area of Edo State of Nigeria
By Chief (Prof.) Alex G. Igbineweka. January 8, 2017 Oakland, California
